So, the last month or so I have been mainlining all 70 episodes of Cardcaptor Sakura on Crunchyroll. And y’know…I like it all over again. ^_^
You have to remember, we were coming off a Sailor Moon high the first time. All those amazing voice actresses, and there they were scooped up the immensely talented all-woman studio, CLAMP, no less. It was a perfect set up for Yuri fans.
And then…it started going all bent and alt-sexuality right away. The BL fans went gaga (rightfully so) over Touya and Yukito, fans of intergenerational relationships had Terada-sensei and Rika, and Kaho and Touya, and Fujitaka and Nadesico. Yuri fans had Sonomi’s feelings for her cousin Nadesico, mirrored by Tomoyo’s feelings for Sakura. So, basically everyone had something to be weird about. Boy with wings and long silver hair? Here’s Yue. Androgynous cute being? Have Ruby Moon. There was something for everyone, wrapped in a pretty CLAMP animation with ribbon and cake.
NIS did a really decent job with the translation, until they didn’t. And when they didn’t, it became one of those moments that you just suck it up and do the best you can and hopefully realize that you can’t just ignore the honorifics and hope they go away. (Only companies keep making the same mistake over and over. How about we learn to translate names as they are presented, already and stop fighting it, huh?) So instead of Li-kun becoming Xialoang (a transliteration I 100% approve of, btw. It is correct), they struggle with Xiolang to…um, “bestie.” Yeah, no.
The film quality is great, and when/if I get this, I think getting Blu-Ray will be worth it. NIS has a Hybrid Blu-Ray (Amazon/ RightStuf) version available.
It actually felt more Yuri to me this time around – Tomoyo is well and truly besotted, much more so than her mother. (Bonus for us seiyuu otaku, Sonomi is is played by Itou Miki, who played Sachiko in Marimite.)
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Ratings:
Art – 8 One of CLAMP’s most colorful and swoopy
Story – 8 Weird, but fun
Characters – 10 Enduring in a lot of ways. There never would have been a Tamao in Strawberry Panic, if there hadn’t been a Tomoyo in CCS.
Yuri – A steady, underlaid 3
Service- 6 Not physical, but psychological hoo-whee!
Overall – 9
It’s been a long time since I watched this series and I think I enjoyed it more this time around. ^_^
Just to give credit where credit is due…the anime was made by the talented folks at Madhouse studio, with character designs by the very talented Kumiko Takahashi (based on Mokona Apapa’s brilliant manga character work of course), directing by Morio Asaka.
However, like many anime adaptations of CLAMP’s work, CLAMP’s own Nanase Ohkawa oversaw the series composition writing. And between that and that Madhouse likes to work closely with the original creators, I’m sure CLAMP had much more active role overall in the adaptation then mangaka usually are. I’m sure they must have had a say in the casting, of course.
I do have to say, as a Nakayoshi reader at the time (originally mostly to follow along with the Sailor Moon broadcast), it was an awesome era. Sailor Moon still running it’s orginal Japanese airing, Rayearth’s manga was just ending and CCS just was very clearly earmarked as anime material from day one.
I still have a wonderful poster from the premiere issue (and the entire run in Nakayoshi itself for that matter…way too much space being hogged there) that has Rayearth on one side, and Sakura on the other, with a slightly different design than the final one for the Clow wand. I really need to get it framed someday. I think CLAMP achieved new heights even for them with the level of work on the CCS manga.
I agree completely. I’m more of a fan of CLAMP as a business unit, than as a studio, but CCS has always been a favorite of mine.
So NIS does it again messing up translations again. I mean really, we still haven’t been able to grasp that. I’ve been hearing quite a bit of buzz on Amazon awhile back when they released Katanagatari (a show I purchased and still have yet to sit down and watch it). It was the same thing. Oh well, the good thing is that I’m glad that CCS is finally being re-released for those that never had the chance of owning it. And CCS is a really great and wonderful show for girls and anyone else who wants to watch it. Too bad the idiots who aired it under the title “Cardc(r)aptors” didn’t seem to get that note.
Nelvana and Warner Brothers 14 years ago really don’t have anything at all to do with NIS’s translation choices now. It was one poor choice, hardly worth getting angry about.
Isn’t the title character only 8 in this?
10 or 11.